Larra Skye

Artist Information

Biography

Larra Skye is a songwriter with a sweet, musical voice tinged with folk and jazz. She regularly performs music from her 2006 HMV bestselling album and her upcoming pop release.

In December 2005, Larra released her debut album The World Disappears at the Montreal Bistro in Toronto to a sold-out crowd. Since then, her original compositions have received airplay from jazz & campus stations worldwide, including the CBC. In February 2006, The World Disappears debuted in the top spot at Toronto’s CIUT 89.5 FM. In June 2006, HMV took The World Disappears nationwide, and Larra became the #1 bestselling independent jazz artist. She has toured on both coasts of Canada three times since the release of the album.

Growing up, Larra learned to play guitar from the books at her parents’ bookstore. Music was in the family; Sony Music distributed sister Rosanne Baker Thornley’s 1993 album, Courage. By 13, Larra was singing in a professional children’s choir and performing regularly at a local coffeehouse.

In 2002, Larra studied journalism at Ryerson University. A Canada Day backyard jam that summer led to a collaboration with songwriter Gerard P. Finn (Damhnait Doyle, EMI). Their songwriting and recording partnership flourished prompting Larra to take leave from her studies and move to Hamilton to work with Gerard.

They returned to Toronto in 2005 to complete The World Disappears, whose other co-writers include Eric Boucher, Adrean Farrugia, and Mladen Solaja. Recorded at Reaction Studios in 2005, it features some of the most respected and sought-after jazz musicians in Canada, including: pianists Farrugia and Boucher, drummer Kevin Brow, bassist Jim Vivian, trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, saxophonist Bob Brough, and guitarists Geoff Young and Matt Stevens.

*****

Festival/Showcase Highlights:
- Canadian Music Week
- Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival
- St. John's Jazz Festival
- Winterfolk Festival
- Beaches Jazz Festival, Featured Performer

****

"...a lovely, unique blend of a poetic folk-singer’s mind and a dynamic jazz-singer’s soul.”
- Andy Frank, Roots Music Canada

"There was little doubt why she has been hailed as the next big thing. She has a rich, expressive voice and brought an incredible amount of emotion to each song, particularly a spot-on cover of Bill Wither's 'Ain't No Sunshine'. Skye has an easygoing stage presence that doubtlessly helped to endear her to the audience."
- Scene & Heard

Instrumentation

Marc Rogers - Bass
Roger Travassos - Drums

Discography

- Wishing Tree (In progress)
- The World Disappears (2006)
- Airplay on CBC, national campus stations, and international radio (US, Australia, Spain, France, Italy)

Links

• Twitter
• Facebook
• MySpace

Audio

• Grain of Sand (Demo)
  Listen   Download
• Pull Me In (Demo)
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Grain of Sand
• Pull Me In

Video

Larra singing River by Joni Mitchell

Photo Gallery

Press

• Various International and Other [+ Show ]
  

  “... bright, cool, mellow, smokey... exactly what I need for my show... a fine series of tunes with ...“... bright, cool, mellow, smokey... exactly what I need for my show... a fine series of tunes with a gro-
  ovin’ crew all around.” - WKNH, USA
  
  “Music at its best!” - KRTU, Texas
  
  “Oh brother, she is great!” - Radio Logan, Australia
  
  “Every song here a keeper. Larra weaves her way through this CD with honest vocals and warm jazz
  stylings. Thanks to her for this addition to the NGQ music family. Highly regarded by us.” - Dusty Durst,
  NGQ Music Prod., USA
  
  “Really good CD. You need to have this one in your collection. Buy it and like me, you will just love it.”
  - Gi Dussault, Upper Room Radio, USA
  
  “If you want to hear beautiful vocals, delivered by a rising star on the jazz scene, then pickup a copy
  of ‘The World Disappears’. Larra Skye explores the heartbreak, joy, disappointment, and uncertainty of
  love, in songs such as “Love Is,” “Open Up Your Eyes,” and “Make Believe.” The phrase torch song was
  invented for people like Larra Skye when she sings the original song “Pretty Little Baby.”
  - Jazz Review, September 2007
  
  REVIEW OF TORONTO DOWNTOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL SHOW BY WWW.SCENEANDHEARD.CA
  Larra Skye Quintet at The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar, Saturday June 23rd
  
  The capacity crowd at the Rex seemed to grow as the sounds of the Larra Skye Quintet’s smooth jazz drifted out
  onto Queen Street on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
  
  There was little doubt why she has been hailed as the next big thing. She has a rich, expressive voice and brought
  an incredible amount of emotion to each song, particularly a spot-on cover of Bill Wither’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’.
  
  Skye has an easygoing stage presence that doubtlessly helped to endear her to the audience. She wove stories
  about writing songs in her parents’ Newmarket bookstore and writing lyrics when she was in love then recording
  the song after she had fallen out of love into her first set.
  
  She never once resorted to Dion/Carey-style vocal histrionics. It seemed odd to hear such a big voice coming
  from such a slender woman.
  
  Unfortunately, S&H.ca had to duck out before she played her second set. If the crowd that remained was any
  indication, they weren’t going anywhere.
  
  REVIEW OF VANCOUVER SHOW # 2 FROM JAZZ REVIEW WEBSITE
  Larra Skye : Romantic, Sultry, Emotive
  The Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  
  Toronto jazz singer Larra Skye one of the few independent artists to strike a national distribution deal (HMV),
  performed two outstanding sets at The Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club in Vancouver Canada on July 28. Dressed
  in a short black sequin dress, the tall slender Skye, with her shoulder length brown hair occasionally sweeping
  across her face, opened with “The Only One I’ll Miss,” before breaking into the fabulous “Turn Up The Stars.”
  
  Skye is at ease on the stage, performing within several different sub genres of jazz, including modern tunes re-
  flecting traditional jazz standards, or a song such as “Comes Love,” which began with a 6/8 Afro Cuban beat and
  progressed into more of a swing. She got down and funky with “All Or Nothing At All,” a sassy song in which the
  singer teases her lover.
  
  The singer’s cover of Bill Withers’ classic hit song, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” is possibly the best vocal performance of
  the tune in the thirty-six years since Withers took it to number three on the US pop charts and number six on the
  R&B rankings. Skye possesses emotive vocals that suggest she is pulling from her own personal experiences. She
  sings with authenticity and unlike some artists who are more sedentary, Skye’s body language suggests that her
  very being moves within the soundscape of each song.
  
  The deeper into the evening we went both the singer and her ensemble just seemed to be hitting their stride with
  songs like the ballad “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” There was a hint of nostalgia in the air and one almost ex-
  pected Humphrey Bogart to utter, ‘Of all the gin joints in town, she had to walk into mine.’
  
  During her second set Skye once again demonstrated she has many sides to her vocal personality with her ro-
  mantic and impeccable phrasing on “There Will Never Be Another You,” as well as her tender performance on the
  original composition “Everything.” Skye turned up the heat with a sultry performance of “Pretty Little Baby,” with
  a hint of, ‘Come hither young man,’ in her voice.
  
  As my eyes glanced over the original oil paintings of greats such as Miles Davis and Billie Holiday adorning the
  walls, I could not help but wonder if in an intimate jazz club in Vancouver one was catching a glimpse of another
  rising star.

• Vancouver View [+ Show ]
  

  ".. confident and versatile. The album is a great jazz vocal performance." - The Vancouver View, Aug...".. confident and versatile. The album is a great jazz vocal performance." - The Vancouver View, August 2006

• Inventive charmer [+ Show ]
  

  "an inventive charmer of a jazz stylist. Not quite a chanteuse, not quite a torch singer, she create..."an inventive charmer of a jazz stylist. Not quite a chanteuse, not quite a torch singer, she creates a new category for herself with impressive songwriting and a voice that's like a whisper in your ear." - David Hayes, freelance journalist and writer of magazine features on Diana Krall and Michael Bublé

• Jazz FM [+ Show ]
  

  "Sharp winds of a Canadian winter begin to blow... it's nasty out there but look at this... I've fou..."Sharp winds of a Canadian winter begin to blow... it's nasty out there but look at this... I've found a new bud, fresh, open and revealing just enough magic to indicate that a grand and colourful explosion is forthcoming... Larra's CD is her first statement and signature, and there's no question... it's her stuff and style" - Reiner Schwarz, JazzFM 91.1 FM

• Sultry, smoky and evocative [+ Show ]
  

  "It swings from the first note. Beautifully performed, recorded and mixed. Consummate musical conver..."It swings from the first note. Beautifully performed, recorded and mixed. Consummate musical conversations throughout with sultry, smoky and evocative vocal delivery sealing the deal." - Chicago musician, Don Conoscenti, currently on tour with Rounder Records artist Ellis Paul

• Accessible sound [+ Show ]
  

  "Check out Larra Skye at the Republic... Skye's just-released debut CD has already been picked up fo..."Check out Larra Skye at the Republic... Skye's just-released debut CD has already been picked up for national distribution by HMV and her sound is accessible, fun and easy."

• #1 on CIUT 89.5 [+ Show ]
  

  “Larra Skye is a lovely, unique blend of a poetic folk-singer’s mind and a dynamic jazz-singer’s sou...“Larra Skye is a lovely, unique blend of a poetic folk-singer’s mind and a dynamic jazz-singer’s soul.”

Setlist

Set duration will depend on needs of the venue. Here is a sample list of songs.

Original:

Pull Me In
A Place For Me
Everything
Don't Think, Just Feel
I Want My Money Back
Let's Talk About It Later
What a Day
Make Believe
Grain of Sand

Covers:

Get Thy Bearings (Donovan)
Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
Crazy (Gnarlz Barkley)
We Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams)

Basic Requirements

Calendar